Stem Cell Transplant Program

About the Program

Transplantation of bone marrow or blood stem cells is a procedure to treat cancerous and non-cancerous diseases. The main diseases treated include:

Leukemias

Lymphomas

Myelomas

The bone marrow transplant (BMT) process begins with a screening that includes:

Detailed medical evaluation

Education for both patient and caregiver

Financial counseling

Psychosocial evaluation

We closely follow our patients after transplant through a specialized long-term follow-up clinic. We work in partnership with referring physicians through the process, from pre-transplant evaluation through the transplant itself as well as after the transplant as you return to your hometown doctor.

Types of Transplants

The Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center offers the full spectrum of transplant types, which include:

Autologous - Uses your own cells from your bloodstream or bone marrow

Related allogeneic - Uses cells from one of your family members

Unrelated allogeneic - Uses cells from an unrelated matched donor

Reduced-intensity transplant (sometimes called a mini-transplant) Requires less intensive treatment with chemotherapy or radiation

Umbilical cord blood transplant

Syngeneic - Uses cells from an identical twin

These transplants may be conducted in an inpatient setting or in our Outpatient Treatment Unit (OTU) depending on your needs.

Facilities

Most patients can expect to be admitted as an inpatient at least once during the transplantation process.

There are 27 private rooms that are HEPA-filtered on the 11th floor of Vanderbilt University Hospital. The Inpatient Transplant Unit is staffed with highly-trained nurses that provide round-the-clock monitoring.

A 13-room Outpatient Transplant Unit (OTU), located on the second floor of the Vanderbilt Clinic, is available to serve you 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. You can call the OTU at 615-936-1803 at any time. If you have an emergency, go directly to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Emergency Room. There will be someone from the transplant program for you to see.

A social worker will help you locate housing arrangements for you and your caregiver.

Through the exceptional capabilities and caring spirit of its people, Vanderbilt will lead in improving the healthcare of individuals and communities regionally, nationally and internationally. We will combine our transformative learning programs and compelling discoveries to provide distinctive personalized care.